Monthly Review - July 2024

This website

Learning Georgian (αƒ₯αƒαƒ αƒ’αƒ£αƒšαƒ˜ αƒ”αƒœαƒ)

After more than 2 years of living in Georgia, I’ve finally started learning the language. I wish I started it earlier, but late is better than never. I’m learning from video lessons shared by GSAC Assist Hub and could’t get more joy from it.

Results of the first month: I have bought a delicious watermelon with Georgian (and probably a terrible accent), which I will never forget.

I can’t wait to try my quill with Georgian calligraphy. There are three writing systems in Georgian, and each one is unique. Thus, it is crucial to learn the alphabet before trying drawing glyphs, and I’m getting closer to knowing all of them.

Obtaining motorcycle license

My motorcycle license has expired a couple of years ago and even though I don’t own a bike right now, I though I could obtain a license here in Georgia.

Running

On July 16th I ran 10 km for the second time in my life. Preparing myself for the 10k-marathon in Tbilisi in September. I got a new pair of running shoes, Nike Zoom Structure 25 which provide great support for my flat feet. Since quitting vape in April I’ve gained several kilos. I’ve decided to cut sugar and bread completely, reduce meat and increase fruits and vegetables in my diet. My goal is to get from current 72.5kg to under 70kg until the end of the month.

In the last day of July I ran 10k again and set a personal record of …

Football (also known as soccer)

I have never been a fan of football in my life. Here in Batumi I attained a soccer game for the very first time at the age of 38. I enjoyed the game, the stadium (good new one), and the play of Dinamo Batumi vs Dinamo Tbilisi. In July the whole Georgia was following the journey of Georgian National team which got into the group and made all the way to 1/8. Despite the loss to Spaniards, it was a fair play and the team are national heroes. Portrait of Kvicha are all over the cities. The UEFA cup has ended, Spain won from England 2:1. And guess what? Another European chapmionship has already started. It’s UEFA Premier League, and on July 17 there will be a first game here, in Batumi, between local Dinamo and Bulgarian Ludogorets, which I’m going to attain. I wonder how long my interest to soccer will last? Is it an age thing?

Messages from Democrats

Since election run has started, my inbox has filled with emails from Democrats. Every day I get a message from Joe Biden, also Robert de Niro, Kamala Harris and other notable people and politicians. These email are addressed to a person whose last name is exactly like mine. Probably by a mistake he used one of my emails for the subscription. I’m going to get in touch with that person. What is he’s my distant relative? My last name is not super popular and, as far as I learned, is common in East European countrties such as Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia.

Digital detox

Since Google started blocking browsers with ad-block plugins, I rarely use Youtube. I don’t visit Instagram and stopped using Facebook since I can’t stand ads there. I follow the news from my RSS feed which is built around Hacker News. For direct communication I use email, Whatsapp, or Signal. I didn’t have much fun with Mastodon either, and I started getting similar vibes there with hate speech, strong emotions, and stuff like that. Anyways, I don’t miss it much. I enjoy my spare time and use flashcards to learn new Georgian words, listen to historical podcasts, or reading books from a long to-read list on Kindle. I’m logged out of my Google account and only read emails which are forwarded to my private mail server. The only bastion which I didn’t break is Google Maps on mobile. I still didn’t figure out the better workflow for earth bookmarks. There are solutions for Nextcloud, but they are not as convenient as Google’s. I’m more than happy for quitting Meta’s social media and Google platforms: not only I got rid of subscriptions, I also started to read more, and spend more time meditating, doing sports, and began living a healthier life in general. There’s less stress and anxiety in my life. I used to advocate other people to do the same, until I realized how wrong I was by thinking that what works for me will work for anyone else. I still feel a bit sad that people are giving their time, data, privacy, rights, and mental health away for digital entertainment, but I have no right to judge or convict them for their life choices. Although, I start meeting more and more people who make a decision to reduce social media in their lives and I feel happy for them and wish that they will get the most out of it.

Supporting in August

Reply via Email or Mastodon